Cincinnati University fashion student steps back in time
Loungewear and lingerie designs by University of Cincinnati senior fashion design student Emily Battisti look back to another century for detailing and inspiration. Read the full story here.
Uptown
Uptown includes all the neighborhoods around the University of Cincinnati including Avondale, Clifton, Clifton Heights, Corryville, Fairview, Mt. Auburn and University Heights, so it's a diverse mix of students and residents in one of the city's most distinct and eclectic group of neighborhoods. Uptown is the home of the Cincinnati Zoo as well as multiple hospitals and the Ludlow shopping district where you can find trendy and unique shops as well as any scent of incense you need. Ethnic restaurants, including a curiously high concentration of Indian eateries, multiple taverns, coffee houses, music venues and the Esquire — one of Cincinnati's finest independent art house movie theaters all make Uptown a one-stop walkable bazaar of exciting entertainment options.
Neighborhood business gives back through Dewey’s DewMore
Dewey’s Pizza, which brands itself as a “neighborhood pizza place,” lives up to its name with DewMore—the restaurant’s nonprofit that's aimed at giving back to organizations within the community. “Dewey’s wouldn’t be a company without all the people from our local communities coming in, so we try to give back to them as best we can,” says Kevin Dern, DewMore’s initiative coordinator. Dern, who is 27 years old and a lifelong Cincinnatian, began his work with Dewey’s as a server at the restaurant’s Oakley location. He then transitioned into the role of coordinating events and making sure DewMore’s efforts were reaching full potential. The most popular events Dern leads are DewMore’s Pizza Schools. “We’ll open the store early on a Sunday morning,” Dern says. “And people will sit down like it’s a normal dining experience at Dewey’s, but then the server comes up and takes them back into the kitchen, and our kitchen staff will train them how to roll out the dough, toss the dough and make their own pizzas.” The nonprofit’s most recent success came as a result of a pizza school at the Kenwood location in which the program broke a DewMore record by raising $3,000 for the Ohio Valley chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The pizza schools are led entirely by Dewey’s employees. They're not getting paid, but instead volunteer to come in early. Dern says many of the servers and cooks share the vision of wanting to give back, which makes the pizza schools a fun experience for all involved. “Cooks teach the kids how to throw flour at the window—and the kids love coming in to the back—some of them get really into it,” Dern says. “The cooks even teach them how to use the paddles to put their pizzas into the oven, and adults get really into it too. They want to cut their own pizzas, and slice them for others—it’s a fun, unique experience that you can’t really get at many other restaurants.” According to Dern, the events not only allow community members to come together for a family-friendly, behind-the-scenes experience at Dewey’s Pizza, but it also allows them to enjoy the company of their neighbors—including those from the nonprofit in which the pizza school is benefitting—as they sit back, chat and enjoy each other’s pizza creations. “Dewey’s has always wanted this to be a fabric of the company,” Dern says. “We’re willing and flexible to get out there and do whatever we can to help the community.” Do Good: • Contact your local store's manager to suggest organizations with which to partner. • Like DewMore on Facebook to keep up with the latest events. • Contact Kevin Dern to learn more about DewMore initiatives. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.
ReSource launches new programs to serve nonprofits
ReSource redistributed products to assist 330 local charities last year, and it has the potential to be able to reach even more organizations this year through its two new programs, which the nonprofit will unveil at its May 15 Launch Party in Sharonville. For more than 20 years, ReSource has collected surplus donations from corporations, and then made items like office furniture and personal care products available to nonprofits for pennies on the dollar. “We’re the connector to the nonprofit organizations,” says Development Director Martha Steier. She says ReSource’s ability to bring businesses together has broadened her ability to make an impact in the community. Steier says the organization’s mission is to help build stronger nonprofits, so ReSource provides warehouse space for member organizations to come shop for what they need. “So much we have here with a little creativity and a little open-mindedness can be put together for reuse,” Steier says. In addition to offering needed items for low-cost purchase, ReSource will now offer items for rental with its Event Décor Rentals program. “We’ve had—for about five or six years—a fall fundraiser, as many nonprofits do, and we have a decorations committee who is responsible for decorating tables and making invitations,” Steier says. “And we’ve had several board members that do these same events for other nonprofits, and everyone borrows from everybody else, or they go and buy things and end up storing them in their basements.” Rather than buying things and getting limited use from them, ReSource had the idea to get donations for décor, store the items in the warehouse space and then make them available for rental. This allows nonprofits to save money, which they can instead put toward serving the community, Steier says. In addition to the Event Décor Rentals program, ReSource will launch its room makeover program, which already has two clients: the YWCA Clermont County women’s shelter and the Lower Price Hill Community School. ReSource has several architects on its board with the skill and talent to show rather than tell community members the benefits of the nonprofit. With an all-volunteer design team, ReSource will create specifications to transform rooms within area nonprofits so that they are more useable and conducive to serving the organization’s mission. For example, ReSource will replace ripped carpet and make the YWCA’s living room more inviting for women and children. The organization will also renovate a 50-year-old annex within the LPHCS so that it can serve as a classroom for individuals enrolled in the Cincinnati State Technical and Community College’s Bridge program. “It’s sometimes hard to explain our story,” Steier says. “We really want to be able to show everyone what nonprofits can do with the corporate donations.” Do Good: • Attend ReSource's Launch Party at its Sharonville warehouse space. • Contribute to ReSource by donating. • Become a member nonprofit if you would like to shop at ReSource for needed items. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.
My Soapbox: Nick Shah, UC Presidential Leadership Medal of Excellence winner
Nick Shah, who will graduate from the University of Cincinnati later this month, has already proven himself a 21st century Renaissance man. With a degree in biomedical engineering and a minor in Spanish, he'll start med school at UC this year, but he's already a fixture at the Ronald McDonald House, where he shares his talents as a pianist every week. Shah chats with Soapbox about his plans for the future and what he hopes to contribute to the world of medicine.
Cincinnati Public Staircases: A Walking History Abandoned But Not Forgotten
The historic importance of urban staircases in Cincinnati was created in part because of geographic contrasts poised by steep inclines situated between neighborhoods. Read the full story here.
DAAP grad starts clothing line for kids
When it came to starting a career, Mary Helen Boeddeker, 24, knew exactly what she wanted to do. As soon as she graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP program in June 2012, she started her own clothing line for kids. “I knew I wanted to start a brand in Cincinnati to make kids feel great, make moms happy and to bring manufacturing and design back to the United States,” says Boeddeker. Today, much of the clothing bought and sold in the U.S. is created overseas, but Boeddeker didn’t want that for her clothing line, Mary Helen Clothing. She does everything from designing the garments to sourcing fabric, to patterning and creating the clothing. Boeddeker was inspired to start Mary Helen Clothing by her late grandmother, Mary Helen. “She was all about being positive and being yourself,” she says. Mary Helen Clothing isn’t sold in stores. It’s available online and at trunk shows, where Boeddeker goes to customers’ houses and puts on fashion shows with their children. “I love when the girls put on my clothes and their faces light up,” Boeddeker says. Right now, Boeddeker’s main focus is clothing for young girls. But in March, she started a small collection for boys, and she has plans for a collection for moms as well. She also has a collection of unisex clothing in the works. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
UC’s new MENtorship pilot aims to develop male nurses
As our aging population grows, they're asking more of our healthcare providers. Nurses increasingly are being asked to fill healthcare needs and are growing their skills and knowledge through higher education. Still, an untapped resource of nursing talent remains: men. About 94 percent of nurses are women, and that creates challenges for men who are entering the field, as well as patients who aren't always comfortable receiving treatment from a male nurse. These are some of the reasons that local medical and educational partners, including a University of Cincinnati College of Nursing student organization, started MENtorship, a program for male student nurses. The nursing program has partnered with Cincinnati Children's Medical Center and UC Medical Center to develop MENtorship. The six-to-eight week program is just wrapping up, with a group of 12 undergraduate nursing students. In addition to being mentored by professional nurses, higher ranking students also mentor younger students. So students are both mentors and mentees, says UC MENtorship faculty advisor Gordon Gillespie. "The junior and senior mentors can tell the freshmen and sophomores what the student nursing program is really like and the commitment that it takes, so the students aren't surprised," says Gillespie, who has been a nurse for 17 years. "They could be less likely to drop out." The program was initially inspired by a 2013 American Journal of Nursing article, "Men in Nursing: Understanding the Challenges Men Face Working in this Predominantly Female Profession,” that identified professional tribulations experienced by men in the nursing field. Students are mentored on educational challenges and expectations, but also on dealing with challenges they'll face after school, Gillespie says. "How do you approach intimate care for a female patient?" he says. "There are higher concerns about inappropriate touching with a male nurse. There are some cultures where it is taboo. When there are violent or aggressive patients, they were automatically assigned to me because I am the man. We talk about those issues and how to deal with them." The MENtorship program will be evaluated this year, and there are plans to offer it again based on feedback from this semester's participants. If given board approval, it will be offered for a full year starting with the 2013-2014 academic year. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter
Cincinnati Montessori Society celebrates 50 years
Fifty years ago, a group of parents who were passionate about Maria Montessori’s philosophy of education developed the first Montessori preschool in the area. And following the preschool’s inauguration, the group formed the Cincinnati Montessori Society, a nonprofit whose focus is to promote Montessori education while serving as a resource to countless schools, teachers, parents and students in the community. “One of my favorite quotes is, ‘Follow the child,’” says Heather Gerker, vice president of CMS. “We meet the child where they are developmentally.” Montessori classrooms, which are both child-centered and composed of mixed age groups, are set up so that children can learn through a multisensory approach that allows them to figure things out at their own speed—and the philosophy works, Gerker says. At CMS’s Annual Spring Conference and celebration of 50 years of success, neuroscientist Dee Coulter delivered the keynote address. “This work that Maria Montessori did over 100 years ago is now being proven through neurological work happening now,” Gerker says. “[Coulter’s address] was really affirming and validating to the teachers there.” Not only were teachers excited to go back to work on Monday after hearing Coulter’s presentation, Gerker says, but they also had the opportunity to participate in breakout sessions that were aimed at providing strategies and insight that lead to better education. Topics ranged from promoting mindfulness through music to strategizing ways of better assisting children with ADD and autism. Gerker says she’s particularly passionate about the resources that CMS provides because they’re based on a philosophy that’s now scientifically proven, and she’s seen it work in the lives of her own children. “It gives them a solid sense of self, that they’re so independent and happy, which I think is the ultimate goal,” Gerker says. “I just want to make sure it’s available to all children.” Do Good: • Become a member of CMS. • Check out the resources offered by CMS. • Connect with CMS on Facebook. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.
Video Modern Makers
Soapbox's Scott Beseler shares a visual feast of food art and more at the latest installment of Modern Makers, feature chef Frances Kroner of Feast.
Food truck to open restaurant at U-Square at the Loop
Mr. Hanton’s Handwiches started serving up hotdogs out of a food cart to Cincinnatians in 2010. A year later, Brian and Awilda Hinton upgraded to a food trailer; in May, the couple will open a brick and mortar restaurant in Clifton to satisfy late-night cravings as well as devoted followers. Because food carts, trailers and trucks are, for the most part, seasonal mobile restaurants, the Hintons did open a storefront in White Oak a little over a year ago. They then talked to a group of investors and decided to expand Mr. Hanton’s into a chain of restaurants. The Hintons closed the White Oak storefront and are using the space as a commissary to serve as their prep location for the trailer, parties and events. Awilda left her full-time job at P&G to run the restaurant; and Brian will be focusing most of his time on their mobile business. “We had lots of customers in Mt. Adams who were UC students, and they wanted a store in Clifton,” Brian says. So it was an easy decision for the Hintons when a location opened at the U-Square at the Loop development. Mr. Hanton’s is slated to open the last week of May, with an official grand opening around June 13. The menu will be slightly different from the food trailer. For example, they won’t offer a gyro at the restaurant, but there will be a gyro-inspired hotdog, which will feature a sausage made from lamb and seasoned with Mediterranean spices and topped with celery salt, tomato, onion and tzatziki sauce, Brian says. “We’ve been hearing that Clifton doesn’t have a large variety of late-night options, and we plan to bring a new late-night option to people,” Brian says. “And it will be something different. You can get a hamburger, tacos, burritos and cheese coneys anywhere in town, but you won’t find anywhere in Cincinnati with a menu like ours.” Mr. Hanton’s offers around 30 different hotdog options, plus a create-your-own dog. The Hintons also plan on bringing a food truck to the streets of Cincinnati soon, and have big plans for their brand coming next spring. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
